Fernán of Barzona
Fernán of Barzona (ca. 1250/51 - 1310) was the fourth (or fifth) Count of Barzona, who ruled the Brunanter islands from 1279 until his death. Biography Early life Fernán was born the son of Antonio Miguel de Larria and his second wife, Berenice; he was never expected to become Count of Barzona. The death of his father in 1254 saw his older half-brother Juan become count. The latter's death in 1272 then saw his young son Pedro to become count, but he was quickly usurped by Antonio Miguel's second son and Fernán's older half-brother, Alfonso. He had left Brunant for Catalonia in 1270, likely saving his own life. He was a prominent member of the royal household of James I of Aragon, who had conquered Brunant in 1244 and subsequently installed the County of Barzona for Fernán's father Antonio Miguel. Fernán married Alix of Blois (1262-1299), the daughter of John I, Count of Blois. They were wed by proxy in Zaragoza 1275, with a formal wedding in Pabella in 1279. Invasion of Brunant , which grew into a trade hub in the eastern Mediterranean Sea]] Fernán, however, wanted to rule the Brunanter islands and take them from is older half-brother Alfonso. In 1276, James I of Aragon died and was succeeded by Peter III. The new Aragonese monarch supported Fernán's invasion, but could not help financially or sent military troops due to internal conflicts such as the 1280 expedition to Tunis and the 1279 Treaty of Perpignan, making Peter III's brother James II of Majorca a feudal king of Peter and the Aragonese Crown. Fernán then turned to his father-in-law, the Count of Blois. With a loan and some military support from the latter and bolstered by the measure, the youngest son of Antonio Miguel landed near Niesium in the spring of 1279 with 30 knights. The news was deliberately full of misinformation and news reached Count Alfonso of a large invasion army in the hundreds. Rather than risk death, he met with his younger half-brother to seek terms and was captured or held hostage to prevent any action on his soldiers' part. Certainly by 1280, Fernán was the unchallenged Count of Barzona, once Alfonso died of questioned natural causes. 1280s and 1290s As par of the financial deal with his devout father-in-law, Fernán founded several religious institutions including monasteries across the Brunanter islands. Among these religious structures was the Alzar Abbey. Construction on this Cistercian monastery started in 1295, but was only finished under Fernán's son and successor Diego in 1314. He also founded the Pabella Abbey. Fernán also supported the arrival of thousands of Aragonese settlers. Under his rule, Narvas was founded, becoming one of the largest settlements in 14th-century Brunant. He also developed Brunant into a major trade and merchant center in the western Mediterranean Sea. In Pabella, where his royal household was located, he built several warehouses for goods transferred from northern Europe and the British Isles to the eastern Mediterranean Sea, including Constantinople and Venice. Aragonese Crusade Fernán participated in the Aragonese Crusade from 1284-1285. Seen as part of the larger War of the Sicilian Vespers, the Papal States, the Kingdom of France and the County of Valois declared a crusade against Peter III of Aragon following his recent conquest of Sicily. These events also led to a civil war within Aragon as Peter III's brother, James II of Majorca, joined the French side as his dominion was literally between the Aragonese and French kingdoms. Fernán arrived in Aragon in 1284, just before the first French armies entered Roussillon and Aragon. The Count of Barzona and his troops were installed in several cities and towns close to the border with Navarre. Due to their successful defense of this western border, there was no full-scale invasion from the Kingdom of Navarre, which was ruled by a son of the French monarch, but only cross-border raids occurred. It is unknown whether Fernán and the Brunanters joined Peter III in the Battle of the Col de Panissars, the last battle of the Aragonese Crusade when the French forces were already retiring over the Pyrenees. War with Majorca and later years Uprising]] In late 1285, Fernán returned to Brunant. The next year, he left Brunant again and joined Peter III's son and successor Alfonso III in his war against Majorca, which was ruled by Alfonso III's uncle James II. Fernán helped conquering Ibiza in 1286 and Menorca in 1287. Fernán was present at the signing of the Treaty of Anagni in 1295, which saw peace between all forces in the western Mediterranean Sea, including the Papal States, Aragon, France, Majorca and Naples. In 1302, he suppressed an uprising in Narvas, where the local aristocracy stood up against Fernán's heavy taxation. The last years of his life, Fernán spent much of his time devoted to religion, building churches across Brunant. He also laid the foundation for an administrative, fiscal and judicial bureaucracy which was centrally based in Pabella. He died in 1310 and was succeeded by his son Diego. Family With Alix, he would have six daughters and one son: *Blanca (ca. 1282), died young *Alix (ca. 1285) *Serafina (1287) *Gislena (ca. 1292) *Sancha (1294 - ca. 1320) *Carolina (1297-1355), became a nun *Diego (1299-1363), the later count Category:Dead people Category:Nobility Category:1250 births Category:Military personnel